Seventeen years is the ABC News tenure Matt Gutman carried into CBS News when the network hired him in January. On Friday, a Los Angeles Superior Court complaint filed by former ABC field producer Samira Said put that career transition in contested territory. The suit names Gutman, ABC News, The Walt Disney Co., and former ABC Los Angeles bureau chief David Herndon as defendants, alleging sexualized workplace conduct by Gutman and a pattern of discrimination, retaliation, denial of medical accommodations, and wrongful termination by the network.
The complaint describes two alleged incidents. While Said's team waited in a public queue on assignment, Gutman initiated a discussion rating a female colleague's physical appearance and reducing her to a numerical score; the male crew joined in and solicited Said's participation; Said declined and called the exchange inappropriate. At a later movie-release press event, Gutman and Said disagreed over whether the team should relocate. Gutman responded audibly, in front of multiple coworkers, with the suggestion that Said must have an after-hours date in the city. Said alleges the remark reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.
Said's medical leave and the termination
Said alleged management urged her to cover the May 2022 Uvalde massacre while she was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Severe psychological symptoms followed; a psychiatrist later cleared her to return from medical leave, but only with accommodations. Then-Los Angeles bureau chief Herndon told Said she could resume her role only with full-week availability and no restrictions, according to the complaint. She was reassigned to weekend desk shifts. ABC later sent her to cover the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires; during that assignment, heavy equipment allegedly struck her foot and caused a bone contusion. On March 5, 2025, ABC summoned Said to what management had framed as a routine meeting and terminated her. She had joined the Los Angeles bureau in May 2021.
Said is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees, and a jury trial.
Gutman was the first major on-air hire under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. CBS announced he would report for "CBS Mornings" and "CBS Evening News," lead "48 Hours" coverage, contribute to "60 Minutes," and fill in as anchor. Weiss called him fearless, energetic, and relentless at the time of the announcement. Fox News Digital contacted Disney and CBS for comment; neither responded immediately, and a Disney representative told the Los Angeles Times executives had not yet reviewed the complaint. The allegations have not been adjudicated.